Canadians looking to travel over the holidays are facing tough choices, with a mess of airline, insurance, and government policies to navigate through, as well as the looming threat of the Omicron variant.
As reported by The Globe and Mail, travellers could make the decision to travel and risk being locked down away from home, or cancel and be stuck with credit for future travel instead of a refund.
The federal government recently advised that Canadians avoid international travel as of 15DEC, but while travel is discouraged, it is also not banned, adding to consumer confusion.
With the federal travel advisory in place, even cancellation insurance may not cover consumers who cancel their trip.
With the future of air travel looking uncertain, Canadian airlines commented on the current state of bookings and potential for cancellations.
- WestJet: the airline is getting a high number of calls from customers and is expecting some cancellations, said a spokesperson, but added, “We’re optimistic bookings will hold strong.”
- Porter Airlines: New bookings are still coming in and the “vast majority” of passengers are sticking with their travel plans, according to a spokesperson. “There are no significant flight schedule changes planned beyond typical seasonal adjustments and ongoing refinements that are part of regular business,” they said.
- Air Canada: A spokesperson advised that customers who want to cancel or change their flights should do so with their travel agent.
Travel insurers have taken varying stances on how the government’s travel advisory affects medical insurance and trip-cancellation policies, as reported by The Globe and Mail.
- Manulife Financial Corp.: due to the advisory, the majority of its individual travel policies for emergency medical care will no longer cover COVID-19-related medical claims made on trips with departures after 17DEC.
- Allianz Global Assistance Canada: policy holders who contract COVID-19 at their destinations are not eligible for emergency medical treatment or trip interruption coverage while the travel advisory is in place. In addition, any trip-cancellation policies purchased after 11MAR 2021 will not pay out claims to people who cancel only because of the travel advisory, because the pandemic “remains a known event,” said a spokesperson.
- TuGo: coverage is offered if a traveller must cancel or interrupt their trip because of a medical condition related to COVID-19, or because of a mandatory quarantine, but “does not provide coverage if an individual has to cancel due to travel advisories, border closures, or for someone not wanting to travel due to COVID-19 case levels,” said a spokesperson.
- TD Insurance: for trips that were booked on or after 16DEC, travellers are not eligible for cancellation coverage.
